The clamour by greens demanding the protection of the two-acre ecologically-sensitive Santhivanam in Kottuvally panchayat near North Paravur grew louder on Wednesday.
The Santhivanam Samrakshana Samiti said it would resume legal fight in the Kerala High Court while going ahead with the protest against the Kerala State Electricity Board’s decision to set up a tower for its Mannam-Cherai 110-kV project through the middle of the green ecosystem.
“The KSEB had attempted to misinterpret an earlier High Court directive permitting Meena Menon, owner of the land, to approach the district administration seeking relocation of the tower alignment. The board should explain why it is insisting on having it through the heart of the land when it can be done by making a slight deviation,” asked Kusumam Joseph, environmentalist and convener of the Samiti.
Recalling that the commissioning of towers will take a heavy toll on the green lung of the rich and abundant ecosystem of Santhivanam, Ms. Joseph said the conspiracy behind the decision of the authorities not to take the alignment through an open land close to Santhivanam should be probed. “Neither KSEB nor the government or the district administration has been able to provide us with a satisfactory explanation on why it cannot be relocated,” she added.
Reiterating that greens were not against the project, Ms. Joseph wondered how the KSEB and the authorities were taking them for a ride by proposing alterations to the height of the tower under the garb of protecting trees. A meeting convened by District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla had decided to increase the height of the tower by three metres from the earlier 19.4 metres to save the green cover.
“Now, they are saying it could be raised further. They are trying to confuse the public. We want to know why they are adamant on setting up the tower through the middle of the forest when it can be done without any height improvements by making a slight deviation,”she said.
Ms. Menon said Santhivanam was home to several varieties of trees, animals, and birds. It is also a popular destination for migratory birds. The fight to protect the green space for future generations will continue, she added.